Posted 3/28/07

It takes a village
Burlington: U.S most eco-friendly city

Colin Vallance | photo editor
cvallance@smcvt.edu

There has long been a debate as to which metropolitan area is the most ecological friendly. The results are in and according to Country Home magazine in cooperation with Sperling’s BestPlaces, the Burlington and South Burlington area is ranked the number one city in the U.S that promotes living an eco-friendly lifestyle.

Overlooking Burlington and Lake Champlain. (photo, Colin Vallance)

The Country Home 2007 Best Green Places Report took into account multiple criteria for judging the top 25 cities, among which included Ithaca, N.Y, Springfield, Mass., and Boulder, Colo. The measure by which each city was judged included air and watershed quality, miles of mass transit, green power, farmers markets, and organic producers and groceries, to name a few.

Two of Burlington's innovative green programs are the Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Compost Facility which are located adjacent to each other in South Burlington.

The Compost Facility takes waste from restaurants, institutions, supermarkets, and other waste producing facilities and turns it into compost that can be sold to farmers and landscapers.

The study can be found in the green issue of Country Home that will be in stores this April.

Waterfront property

Lake Champlain Basin Program Cultural Heritage and Recreation Coordinator Jim Branagan has the job of making sure that the lake is accessible and enjoyable for residents and the millions who flock to the area each year.

“The key isn’t to make the lake look good—it does that on its own," Branagan says. "My job is to make sure that people are able to explore around the lake and do so in a safe and interactive environment.”

Burlington’s rising prominence as a environmental haven is one which depends greatly on its natural surroundings; however, it is not solely by its ideal location that it earned the award. It is through initiative programs such as the Lake Champlain Basin Program and concerned local citizens that have allowed for it to obtain this status, says Branagan.

Branagan says that the Basin program has been working in conjunction with many local associations and volunteer groupsto make sure that this is done well. Local Motion is one of these groups, he says, that have been working on the bike paths that connect the lake with Colchester and the Grand Isles.

“With these paths in place it is possible for someone to take a ride around the lake and if ambitious enough, end their trek in Montreal,” Branagan says.

“Burlington’s constantly getting accolades from magazines like Men’s Health; I’d like to think that the Basin program has, with the help of our many partners, let people experience the lake more and by doing so learn more in the process.”

The ECHO on Lake Champlain that helps educate visitors about sustainable iniciatives. (photo, Colin Vallance)

Branagan recalls when the lake was not the city's crowning jewel back in the mid-1980s.

“Before the waterfront was redone there were oil tanks lining the shore and no where to walk or no reason for that matter. It was shady, seedy, and crime ridden. It was not a place that you’d want to bring your family.”

Once the lake was re-vamped, however, people began to notice the great asset it is, says Branagan.

“It created a connection for people in Burlington with the lake—highly intimate—20 years ago you wouldn’t see that.”

Locals lend a helping hand

Molly Michaud the technical coordinator of the Lake Champlain Basin Program oversees projects that promote improved water quality in the area.

As a Burlington resident herself she cites the voluntary citizen involvement in local watershed organizations as the reason for Burlington’s eco-friendly clout.

"Projects like the Burlington school yard watershed program in the mid-90s are landmark clean-up initiatives," says Michaud. "The community involvement helped make improvements and upgraded the Burlington wastewater treatment plant."

The city does not just rely on citizens educating themselves on the topic, says Michaud. Although their enthusiasm helps.

“Burlington has some engaged citizens, there is an exhibit in the ECHO at Lake Champlain research rooms that serve as a great venue for our outreach efforts and residents participate whole heartdly,” says Michaud.

The Basin Program sees itself as a means by which Burlington is able to substation and improve the lake and the city as a whole, says Michaud.

Volleyball court in the 300s field that acts as a water run-off containment tank. (photo, Colin Vallance)

“Our involvement with the lake stretches well beyond water quality issues,” says Michaud. “The lake is a focal point from which everyone in the city draws from.”

St. Michael's contribution

St. Michael’s is part of the Burlington area eco-friendly equation, according to St. Michael’s Biology professor, Declan McCabe. Rather than let water run-off spill out into the surrounding environment there has been containment devices put in place.

“The volley ball court in the 300s field is an example of how the school manages its water run-off,” he says. “Underneath the sand isn't a natural base, it's actually a water retention tank that handles the runoff from the roofs of the townhouses.”

McCabe has been incorporating his research of biological communities in streams and in lakes as well as evasive species in his Aquatic Ecology classes.

This type of work is important for making sure the native species such as fresh water mussels, weeds, and Eurasian Milfoil are sustained and protected from evasive counterparts such as zebra Mussels, says McCabe.

“Compared to an urban area such as Philadelphia, the rural location of Burlington is faced with different issues,” says McCabe. “So rather than having to deal with industrial waste seeping into our ground water we here in Burlington have the opportunity to work on smaller, more specific problems.”